


The Greatest Scam (The Sweetest Makeover)

by ElizaStyx



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Band, Crack, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Feelings, Feels, Fluff and Crack, Friends to Lovers, Holding Hands, Humor, Living Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious, Pining, Sharing a Bed, True Love, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, everyone is just so oblivious, fair warning: there is smut in this but, it's not there just for the sake of smutness, literally zero angst, lots of cute little kisses, mention of joshler but very lowkey, the smut is a plot device, watch me murder you with cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-29 02:43:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7667194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElizaStyx/pseuds/ElizaStyx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank Iero is fucked for life. He is so, so fucked and it's all because firstly, he made friends with Gerard Way, then they became besties for life and then... then he fell in love. Hopelessly, irrevocably and so deeply that the bottomless abyss of Hades seemed like a hole dug by a kid in a sandbox in comparison.<br/>And then, as if it wasn't bad enough, Gerard proposed this arrangement to become his fake boyfriend for life.<br/>Too bad that Frank is such a weak human because he really, really should have said no.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Uhm... hi?  
> This is my first work in bandom so I am a little bit nervous *sweats profoundly* I love the atmosphere here so I guess I will be sticking around for a while ^^  
> So anyway, what I wanted to say is that I already wrote this whole thing and am only rewriting and editing now so if the death doesn't claim my soul in the meantime, it's gonna surely be complete.  
> I probably should be sorry for writing this but this is basically a fic I really wanted to read and since I couldn't find one like this, I wrote it myself and enjoyed the ride maybe just a bit too much. I wonder if you will like it too. I hope so but maybe I'm just weird, I don't even know anymore.  
> I realise that I took some liberties writing about Frank and Gerard's family situation but it's all a no-band, modern au so I guessed not everything had to be exactly the same and I hope you can forgive me. I don't claim to know any of these people, it's all a work of fiction and I own nothing.
> 
> P.S. (or a special message from sponsors):  
> I am really, really sorry, Frank. I love you.

Frank had to admit this, Gerards's mom could be more than just a little insufferable at times. On the inside he felt very much like how Gerard looked but unlike Gerard, he had to suppress his sympathetic bitchface. He knew the pain Gerard was currently experiencing very well since his mother was pretty much the same when it came to this... issue.

At least the food was great; almost worth the whole enormous cringe and second-hand suffering.

Frank could bet that Gerard invited him to tag along mostly because the quite inconspicous woman sitting opposite to them would tear him a new one, if not for the presence of a guest. Mikey probably didn't count as one so it had to be Frank who served as a human shield. Which maybe could be much more awkward, if Frank wasn't used to this kind of over-the-dinner torture. As a veteran though, he had enough experience to know he should politely shut up and stare at his plate like a good citizen he was. He could do that. At least until Gerard finally snapped.

"I really hate to nag you like this, sweetheart." said Mrs. Way in a worried but not entirely sincere tone. "But it's not just my internal urge to become a grandma in this lifetime calling. It is my genuine worry that you will be all on your own, when me and daddy pass away and Mikey focuses on his own thing. I cannot believe you actually don't know anyone nice and single... Are you completely sure about that?"

This was the tenth time she had asked that very same question over the very same meal. Quite a lot even for her standards, Frank had to admit. And as it turned out, apparently just enough for Gerard to implode.

"Mom..." he gritted through clenched teeth. "I really, really didn't want to announce this in such a way and most definitely didn't want to do it today. I didn't want to tell you this week or even this month either but since you are pushing so hard... Fine, I'll admit it, I am in a relationship." Frank's heart froze but Gerard wasn't quite done slaughtering him just yet. "With Frank." he added and then turned to face said Frank whose all basic life functions seemed to have just shut down. "I'm sorry, Frankie, I know you wanted to wait before we told anyone..." he said sweetly. "But you do understand, right?"

Gerard's eyes were so big and pleading and maybe a little scared too and if Frank hadn't already been sure that he'd do absolutely anything for Gerard, then this was his moment of final confirmation. He would literally jump into a volcano for that man. Hell, he would even dare to lie to Mrs. Way. Which actually was exactly what he did next. He swallowed the bite that was still hanging out in his mouth, completely forgotten, and spoke.

"Guess it had to be said soon anyway." he shrugged, smiling weakly and hoping he wasn't too flushed for the occasion.  
Gerard smiled back at him, visibly perking up and his smile was one of those that Frank was always so weak for. He was downright melting and couldn't even find it in himself to care that he exposed himself so much. Especially as Gerard leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek.

Frank had a distant thought that he should probably be interested in how Mrs. Way reacted to the news but honestly, he could only stare at Gerard now. Gerard stared back at him. Frank wondered if it was healthy for his heart to flutter this much.

Finally Mrs. Way grunted and they both turned towards her in sync. She looked a little flustered herself.  
"Well..." she begun. "I'm happy for you boys. And I'm sorry for pushing you like this but... why did you have to make it such a secret? How long has this been going on?"  
"It's quite fresh." Gerard was all animated now, clearly in the zone and ready to sell this story of their beautiful romance. "It's been only a week, really. We didn't want to jinx this. Too many people would be heartbroken, if this didn't work out, not just us."  
"How long would you wait to tell me then? How long is enough of hiding from me, your own mother?" Mrs. Way looked a bit offended; Frank suppressed a smirk, the drama queen gene was strong in that family.  
"Actually..." Gerard hesitated. "We're moving in together in less than a month. I guessed that a housewarming party would be a great occasion to announce this, you know."  
"Oh." she said, raising her brows.  
_OH._ thought Frank.

Now this... This was all just far too convenient. Only Gerard could pull this kind of scam successfully and get away with it just because of a coincidence. Frank kinda envied him the infinite luck he seemed to have. He couldn't believe that the fact that they actually were moving in together would become a part of such a ginormous hoax. They were doing this purely out of convenience and also because Frank was physically unable to say no to Gerard's ideas. The truth was, Gerard found this perfect place close to his workplace and the only problem was that it was too big and too expensive for one person so he kind of actually framed Frank into co-renting it. To be honest though, Frank would mind anything but an excuse to spend more time with Gerard. The weak protest he made, when he saw a very fancily forged signature of his on the documents, was only for a show. As if Gerard didn't know that he completely owned Frank's ass. Ugh.

All those thoughts aside though, Frank had a feeling this was going to backfire terribly. He was usually not wrong about this kind of stuff.

***

It was actually pretty convenient that he was Gerard's drive for the day. He had an excuse not to look at him. Still, he caught a sight or two of his face and what he saw was a bit... unsettling, to say the least. Gerard seemed to be too deep in a thought for it not to be potentially dangerous.

Frank almost drove them straight under a truck, when Gerard finally spoke.

"This is actually fucking amazing." he said. "Like, of all the things that could happen, this one is just the best. Why haven't I thought about it earlier? Really, I should have. It's so brilliant!"  
"What do you mean, brilliant?" Frank swallowed loudly and concentrated on the road harder.  
"Look, Frankie." Gerard turned to face him and Frank could **feel** that his eyes were twinkling with excitement. "This relationship thing is a solution to all our problems. It's like the ultimate answer to all our prayers. I had a little bird tell me that your mother is exactly as dissatisfied with her beloved son being forever single as mine but now, with this happening, they both will finally have to cut it. And that's just one of the endless advantages." Gerard was bouncing up and down on his sit with excitement. "Imagine this, never again we have to actually go out and try to meet new people just for the sake of our mothers. You and I, Frankie, we're both getting too old for that shit. Also, no more flirty assholes at work, in bars and during concerts, get it? No. More. Finally officially taken and officially with a reason to be uninterested! This is so unbelieveably fucking great. It's like winning in a lottery with one in two billion chance. Now we can be forever happily single together." Gerard grinned widely as Frank made a mistake of looking at him. "Isn't it just the greatest opportunity, the best fucking arrangement, the ultimate supreme winner in the category of the best idea for life, Frankie?"

Frank unglued his eyes from Gerard and forced himself to look at the road in front of him. He paled a little as he realised he was going really fucking fast now, having completely forgotten to watch the speed. He slowed down a notch.

"Yeah." he finally admitted, albeit weakly. "Sounds like it."  
Gerard scoffed.  
"My God, you just couldn't be more enthusiastic, could you? Lighten up, Frankie! I don't know what got into you today..." he shook his head, red hair flaming in the fading evening light.  
"Well, it's all just kind of fucking sudden, you ass. Besides, as you might have noticed, I am driving right now and you know, trying not to kill us both. Also, what's the deal with that nickname? Frankie? Really?" he glanced at Gerard and made a face of deep disapproval.  
"Hate to break it to you, **honey** " Gerard stressed the endearment, nonchalantly checking out his nails. "But you gotta get used to that now. If we really want to pull this off, then we really are doing this. By this time next week the whole world will know the great love story of Frank and Gerard."  
"Just for the record..." Frank took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I would punch you, if I didn't have to keep my hands on the steering wheel."

Talk about backfiring.

***

Gerard was that kind of person that once set in motion, never really stopped. He just didn't seem to know when to stop and also quite possibly didn't actually care.

Two hours after returning home from the fateful dinner, Frank couldn't put his phone down for long enough to pee. It seemed like Gerard proceeded to proclaim his undying love for Frank to everyone they both knew, their families and friends of friends of friend's dogs. And all of those people were now calling or texting Frank to congratulate him because apparently everyone thought he was a completely lost case. Sweet.

Frank felt kind of guilty not being able to tell anyone, literally anyone, that this was all one big, fat lie. Maybe if he could, he would feel at least a bit less shitty about how this could never actually be for real. Honestly, it was kind of ridiculous how uninterested in him and his charms Gerard was; Frank had never met anyone this resistant to his blatant flirting and all the more subtle attempts, his whole seduction game he himself had been pretty proud of until it just didn't work. And the most pathetic part was that this was probably the reason why he had to fall for him so hard, to the point where he really couldn't just un-fall and forget about this. No amount of handsome, interested guys could heal him. He tried, he really did and then, in the end, he made the peace with the thought of staying forever alone, holding onto the friendship him and Gerard had. But now... Now the idea of faking everything that Frank had secretly dreamt of... Well, if this was as close as he would ever get to the real thing, then he couldn't just say no. He could even put up with all the pet names for the sake of kind of being fake-Gerard's. He reached quite a low there, wow. He could be giving lessons on desperation.

The phonecalls ended somewhere around the midnight with Mikey Way threatening him with some for of sophisticated Japanese torture awaiting in case he hurt Gerard's feelings even the slightest bit. It made Frank wonder, if in all of this anyone actually cared about Frank's poor heart. He'd bet on himself getting hurt, if anyone were to end up broken-hearted here. And yet, he was still diving in headfirst. Really fucking stupid of him.

After Mikey hung up on him, Frank threw the phone onto the nightstand and then threw himself onto the bed. He started slowly drifting away, thoughts whirling around in his head, crazy, oddly erotic and borderline nightmarish, something about Gerard being a vampire ready to suck out his soul with his blood, when the phone rung again.

"You fucker." groaned Frank into the cell, not even checking out the caller's ID first.  
"And good evening to you too, darling." Gerard chirped on the other end of the line.  
"I'm gonna stab you right in the eyeball next time we meet." Frank rolled his eyes, trying not to think about the warmth that spread in his chest at the sound of Gerard's voice.  
"Oh, kinky!" Gerard huffed a laugh. "How lucky that you'll get your chance pretty soon, honeybun. Soon, as in tomorrow morning. We have an appointment with an interior designer."  
"What?" Frank slapped a hand against his forehead; it hurt plenty.  
"Well, our first shared apartment has to be something really special, right?" Gerard said only half-mockingly. "Ryan hooked us up with his friend. I didn't have the heart to say no."  
"Jesus..." Frank sighed. "This is gonna cost us, doesn't it."  
"All what's best for my Frankie, no matter the price." he could practically **hear** Gerard grin; that bastard. "Anyways... I'll be at yours at nine tomorrow. Be awake, be decent. Or maybe actually do not be decent, I don't even know. I suppose, I should know you at your indecent by now. So..." Gerard took a deep breath. "Have a good night, Frankie." he finished softly, almost as if he really meant to be affectionate.  
"Okay, fine, I'll be waiting." Frank sighed. "Good night to you too, Gee."

He hung up and lied sleepless for another hour.


	2. Chapter 2

The interior designer was most definitely Ryan Ross' friend. That obsession with odd suits was apparently an infectious disease.

Frank was definitely uneqipped to handle all of this at such an early hour. Especially as it was basically Gerard's arrival that woke him up and it somehow added to his natural morning grumpiness. Gerard was just too enthusiastic about that massive crap they were trying to pull off, while Frank woke up full of careful scepticism. The odds that such a scam could work were neat when it came to complete strangers but lying to their friends and families? A whole different cup of tea. Gerard didn't seem to foresee any possible turbulences awaiting them though.

He bounced around Frank's kitchen, babbling about how each and every single one of their friends reacted to the news as Frank roamed around still in his pyjamas, making coffee and preparing breakfast. Frank literally had to push him out of the bathroom, when he wanted to change, since Gerard didn't seem ready to stop talking just yet. Yeah, Frank got it, it was hilarious that so many people were like 'I knew it!', so fucking funny, ridiculous even but he really, really didn't want to discuss why they kept saying that. In the darkest corners of his mind he locked the realisation 'everyone knew I had hots for Gerard' along with the previously discovered 'everyone thought I'd never get laid' to sulk about it later.

Overall, the day was starting off pretty fucking great and boy, was the damned designer just the rotten cherry on top of this shitcake. As if the whole idea wasn't bad enough on itself, everything went twice as badly because Gerard just had to brag about "my perfect boyfriend, ain't he cute, ohmygod" and then hold Frank's hand as if it was his mission to make the man that didn't give a jackshit about them a firm FrankxGerard believer. Frank was already screaming inside at the obnoxious PDA but his brain shut down completely only as the designer mentioned the master bedroom for the first time.

Master. Fucking. Bedroom.

Frank was pretty certain that if one had looked into his eyes as he listened to Gerard enthuse about a fairytale/eastern/hippie/grunge vision of **their shared bedroom** , they could see the reflection of a spectacular nuclear explosion, mushroom cloud and all. At least there was a guest room included in the planning. Frank supposed he could sleep there. Fucking Gerard fucking him over the way only a best friend could.

"And what do you think, Frank?" suddenly Frank heard the designer, Ruben or something, ask.

The truth was, Frank thought about strangling Gerard but he guessed that this was not the answer that the Ruben dude was waiting for.

"Uhm..." he hesitated and felt Gerard squeeze his hand. "Whatever Gerard decides will be fine with me." he smiled brilliantly. Nice save, clever, sweet and sly; Ruben looked smug, Gerard halfly impressed, halfly... disappointed.  
"I really need the space for my instruments though." Frank added quickly and somehow that request got him to actually participate in the rest of the discussion.

The disapproval was completely gone from Gerard's gaze by the time the planning was finished. Frank was suprised by the odd fondness he felt at that.

***

Later that day, they went to see the apartment itself. The previous inhabitants moved out and the basic reparations were almost completely done so what actually was left to do, was to proceed with the design plan. Frank felt a pang of melancholy at the thought they were supposed to just throw their old furniture in together, buy whatever was missing and have an apartment basically made out of two separate ones. He should have guessed that nothing was ever this simple with Gerard.

Frank was just looking into the room that was supposed to become the damned master bedroom, when Gerard waltzed by and pulled him into an erratic version of a tango in the middle of said room.

"What the hell?!" Frank shrieked, going completely stiff in Gerard's tight grip.  
"Cheer up, Frankie! We're moving in together and it's gonna be awesome!" Gerard forced him to swirl around and Frank tripped over his own feet, falling right back into his arms.  
"I am not so sure about this anymore..." he grumbled, blushing as he arched his back, letting Gerard lead the dance as he wished to. "Besides, we don't have to keep pretending here, no one can see us..."  
"Well, you know..." suddenly Gerard's face was closer to Frank's than Frank remembered it being last time he checked. "It's a big role and when a role is this big, I don't just play it, I become it." he looked at Frank from beneath his eyelashes and Frank knew that this would be the moment he'd be completely gone, if he already hadn't been in too deep for years; Gerard could be unbelievably seductive. And he very well knew that, that asshole.

The sound of his ringtone saved Frank from doing possibly the most stupid thing in the world, that is, leaning in to just kiss Gerard already and possibly ruin his only chance at spending some sort of future together. He quickly slid out of Gerard's embrace and picked up the call, turning around to hide his flushed face.

"Frank Anthony Iero" **threatened** Frank's mother and Frank's heart immediately stopped beating. "Would you be so kind as to explain how come that I have to learn from my hairdressed, of all the people in the world, that my very own son has finally settled down?"  
A drop of cold sweat made its way down along Frank's spine. He covered the phone and turned to Gerard.  
"You told my mom's hairdresser about us but not my mother herself, you crazy man?" he looked at him with terror.  
"Hey, she's also my hairdresser! We have a strong spiritual bond!" Gerard didn't even pretend to be sorry.  
Frank just couldn't even.

***

"I really fucking hate you." Frank groaned over the pizza they ordered.  
"You knew we would have to have an official dinner with your family eventually, when you signed up for this." Gerard pointed his slice at him.  
"First of all, I was never asked, if I wanted to sign up for any of this." Frank made a gesture that almost resulted in a piece of tomato launching off into the space. "You just dragged me into this mess."  
"Hey, hey! This is not a mess, calm your tits." Gerard took a bite and continued with his mouth full. "This is actually going just as planned. Or well, as it would be planned, if we had actually planned any of this in advance. They all believe us, Frankie, they believe **in** us." Gerard's eyes sparkled joyfully. "This must be one of the best executed scams in the world. No one doubted this for a second, the future is ours."  
"Yeah, the future of forever pretending we're in our own little paradise." Frank chewed on his own slice gloomily.

"I don't know about you" Gerard licked the sauce off his fingers. "But that perspective really doesn't pain me too much."  
"Really?" Frank scoffed.  
"Yeah, really." Gerard rested his elbows on the table and his chin in his palms, staring at Frank intently. "It doesn't sound half that bad, holding my best friend's hand until the day I die." he titled his head a little and wow, being that cute was surely illegal, had to be. "I know you like I know the back of my hand, Frank, and I know that I'd be happy to just hang out with you for the rest of my life. So, how about we do just that? Hang out together forever and make sure the rest of the world leaves us alone?"

This was odd but somehow Gerard's word both calmed Frank down and made his stomach clench nervously. This sounded like something he could do but he also found it a lot more thrilling than he probably should have. He really did love Gerard with his whole heart so a lifetime with him seemed like exactly something he'd give everything for. Even if it meant a state of constant sexual frustration and guilt, Frank supposed he could handle that. Only for the sake of always being by Gerard's side.

Meanwhile Gerard kept waiting for his answer and he looked so focused and hopeful that in a way it reminded Frank of a completely different kind of situation. He probably shouldn't have thought about that but well...

"Is this like a... **bro** posal?" Frank mentally cringed at this kind-of-pun.  
Gerard just blinked in confusion.  
"Uh... Well... I only have this onion ring with me..." he said after a moment, picking up said ring from the pizza. "But I guess you could call it something like that, yeah." he smirked.

Frank smirked back at him, hoping his face didn't betray how hard his heart fluttered in his chest. Gerard's smirk grew into a smile. Frank ended up grinning. Finally they both bursted out with laughter.

Frank felt like he couldn't care less, if Gerard figured out now that he was pining way too hard. He gave him his hand to put the ring on and giggled like an idiot as Gerard did it in an overly dramatic gesture and then kissed his knuckles.  
"Besties for life?" Gerard asked.  
"For life." nodded Frank.

He kept the ring.

***

Frank couldn't belive he expected anything else than that, honestly. He should have known that his father, even though loving enough to join this little family reunion, was going to be at least lowkey passive-aggressive about this. It was one thing to accept Frank's sexuality, when it was just a topic of discussion, and a completely different problem, when there was a living, breathing and very red-haired proof of it sitting with them at the table.

Frank should have known it would be like this, his father never really liked Gerard in the first place ("a comic writer? what kind of job is that. and what's with the hair. he must still be a child on the inside...") and now he had even more the fuel for his aversion. Even the way he was holding his spoon spoke volumes about his deep disapproval. No matter how much love and respect Frank usually had for his father, he was really tempted to punch him. Maybe he even would, if Gerard didn't grab and hold his hand the second he saw him grow tense.

At least his mother was more than okay with this.

"I cannot believe it took you so long to get there." she cooed at their linked hands. "What made you realise it was the time to take the next step?"  
"I'm not sure it was one thing, madam. More of a slow realisation." Gerard said, squeezing Frank's palm subtly. "One day we were hanging out as usual, watching a movie, I think, and I looked at Frank. I really looked at him, all relaxed on my couch, like he truly belonged there and I thought that this was it. That I wanted to spend the rest of my life like this, with Frank there, closeby."  he shrugged sheepishly, a faint blush colouring his cheeks; Frank wondered why Gerard hadn't become an actor with such skills.

Meanwhile Mrs. Iero turned her gaze onto Frank and raised her brows.  
"I've been in love for a longer while." he parroted Gerard's shrug. "Just waited for him to come around."  
And maybe that was a bit too close to the truth but Frank couldn't find it in himself to care. Especially as his father, almost inaudibly, scoffed. Frank tensed up immediately, shooting daggers at Mr. Iero.

He was about to say something that would definitely ruin the sweet reunion, when  suddenly there was Gerard's voice whispering right into his ear.  
"Let it go, Frankie." Gerard said calmly. "It's not worth it." and then he kissed Frank softly on his temple.  
The inner peace was surprisingly easy to find afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guest starring: [Ruben Block](http://www.frontview-magazine.be/sites/default/files/93004-ruben-block-solo-1119394.jpg) of [Triggerfinger](https://youtu.be/fzWQV5OiQQQ?t=11s)


	3. Chapter 3

The next two weeks passed in a flurry of furniture and decor catalogues and Frank got somehow sucked into it, participating with an unexpected interest. But hey, if he was going to live in that flat for a longer while, he would have to be an idiot not to take a chance to make the best out of it. Besides, someone had to stop Gerard from letting his inner extravagance loose.

Frank wouldn't admit that out loud but he found some morbid joy in Gerard being overly boyfriendy in all the shopping centers they visited. He knew that getting dependant on that could probably bring a lot of suffering upon him in the future but since it was happening anyway, he decided to make the most out of it and enjoy himself. Maybe he actually was a bit of a masochist deep inside. How could he not bask in Gerard's attention though? If he let himself relax, he could almost believe this was all for real.

The names and slurs directed at them definitely were.

Frank almost ended up beating up about a dozen of assholes that week. Almost because Gerard's hand was keeping him anchored, helped him calm down, remember that this wasn't worth getting sued for.

Besides, apart from those unpleasant episodes all the shopping and decorating went smoothly and Frank felt deep satisfaction as him and Gerard were finally left alone in the almost finished apartment that only lacked their personal belongings now.

Gerard jumped onto the tall stool by the kitchen island and spinned around, laughing like a little kid. Frank couldn't help smiling at him.  
"So..." Gerard stopped his rotation to look at Frank. "What do you think? Still a bad idea?"  
Frank took in the surroundings. He had never lived in a place so undeniably stylish and he had always assumed it would maybe feel a bit impersonal to him but now... Somehow this set up ever so discreetly announced that the flat belonged to both him and Gerard. That interior designer must have been hell of a character judge, if barely knowing them he could make it all feel like some bits of their souls and personalities were poured into this. Pure magic.  
"Honestly?" Frank looked back at Gerard. "I actually do love this."

Gerard clapped his hands and slid off the stool. Then he proceeded to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. Frank didn't expect that.  
"Ruben left this." Gerard said pointing at the expensive-looking beverage. "We don't have any glasses yet though. And any corckscrew for that matter." he frowned.  
Without a word Frank pulled out his pocket knife.  
"Well, that solves one problem." Gerard took it from him and opened the bottle deftly.  
"I say, nothing's more classy than drinking wine straight from the bottle." Frank put the pocket knife away and propped himself against the island next to Gerard.  
Gerard half chuckled, half scoffed.  
"To us, then." he rose the bottle.  
"To us." Frank nodded and watched as Gerard took a swig.  
He thought absently that this was probably as close as he had ever gotten to pure happiness.

***

The flat felt not only stylish and cosy but also homey now with all their things firmly on their new rightful places. Frank felt kind of ridiculous having to prop all the things as if he and Gerard shared the bedroom.

"I feel like I'm an illegal russian bride and we're faking the setup for the government." he shook his head, placing a couple of his books on top of "his" nightstand.  
"This is kind of actually what we are doing here. Only that our families are way better at calling bullshit than the government so we gotta be at our top game." Gerard chuckled.  
"I honestly hope nobody's gonna leave a bug here to check if we actually... uhm, do the do." Frank grumbled and specifically didn't look at Gerard, focusing on arranging the pillows.  
"Methinks, this is none of their fucking business." Gerard sounded clearly amused and Frank kept not looking at him harder. "Maybe we're taking it slow..."  
"Yeah, because moving in together is a sure sign of that." Frank snorted.  
"Well, we're just an odd couple, aren't we? Anything's possible here." Gerard threw himself onto the bed and his face slid into Frank's sight. He grinned very shark-like and Frank felt a blush creeping up his neck. Damn his traitorous body...

"I wonder, if they will think about how these walls probably hear me scream every night." Gerard's expression grew wistful and Frank just had to hit him with a pillow.  
"You're an idiot." he huffed as Gerard giggled, pushing the pillow off his face.  
"Maybe I am." he shrugged and smiled at Frank widely. "But it is a common knowledge now that I am **your** idiot."  
Frank didn't dignify that with an answer.

***

The first trouble in paradise begun about a week after they moved in.

At first everything was going smoothly, Gerard was happy to have a chance to catch half an hour of sleep more every day as his commute shortened significantly and Frank... Frank found the new environment inspiring. It's been quite some time since his creative processes had been going so well. Even his daily regular job as a proofreader for local newspapers didn't seem as exhausting as usual. He felt like he could breathe freely for the first time in years.

Maybe it had also something to do with having someone he could share every stupid little moment of his day with. And with that person being Gerard. Everything had been so pleasant and nice that Frank had completely lost his vigilance, which had almost led to a catastrophy. Almost.

The housewarming party was coming and until that day nobody had really visited them apart from Ruben, the designer, who was so fond of his work that he had to come in and take some photos for his portfolio. Other than that though, they were left completely to themselves. Which was why Frank was carelessly making mess in the "guest room" and clearly making it a visibly lived-in place of casual slumber. Really, really not a good idea, were an unexpected guest to appear at their door. And obviously, just because Frank was this lucky a guy, one had to.

In the morning on the day of the party, at an hour as early as ten a.m., someone knocked at their door. Frank didn't even flinch in his sleep, dreaming some vague, happy visions. However, Gerard jumped out of the bed as if someone stabbed him in the buttock. He quickly assessed the situation, Frank sleeping in his own messy bed, the clothes spread out everywhere but their room, and the terror arose in his gut. He would be less scared, if it was the police or immigration knocking at his door, honestly.

Gerard run to the door to check who dared to disrupt their peace and give him a heart attack. He groaned as he saw that it was fucking Mikey. **Always** with the greatest timing, that man.  
"Hold on for a second!" Gerard chirped to his brother. "I am indecent!"  
He heard Mikey make a retching noise on the other side of the door. He would roll his eyes, if he had the time for that.

Meanwhile Frank slept as if a war outbreak couldn't wake him up. Gerard run into his room and without much consideration just grabbed him into his arms and carried into "their" bed. Frank kind of came around as he first went flying and then landed between covers that weren't his own. He opened his eyes just to witness Gerard kneel by his side and lean in to ruffle his hair with a couple of practised pulls and twists. The focused expression on his face seen from up close combined with the feel of his warm fingers on Frank's scalp made Frank very aware of his morning wood and very hopeful that Gerard didn't have the time to notice it. He had no idea what this whole thing was about anyway but he didn't have a chance to ask any questions as Gerard left the room in hurry to take care of Frank's clearly slept-in bed.

Frank went slack against the soft matress that faintly smelled of Gerard and his fruity shampoo. The explanation had to wait for a better time.

***

Mikey was definitely not pleased that Gerard took as long as five minutes to let him in. His attitude changed a bit only when he saw Frank with messy hair guiltily sneak across the hall towards the bathroom, greeting him just with a sheepish "hi". As if he could sense that Frank had to take care of a certain problem caused by equally disheveled Gerard and his shit-eating grin.

Frank really hoped that Mikey wouldn't share his observations and opinions on that with Gerard. He also hoped they both didn't really notice how quickly he managed to get this over with because that was honestly just embarassing. Gerard was truly a source of too much trouble recently. Even after having a moment to collect himself, Frank could still feel his warm fingers pulling at his hair and this really wasn't the most fortunate thing to think about, considering that it both caused and helped him get rid of his... problem.

"Fancy some coffee, brother?" Gerard was just saying, when Frank entered the kitchen.  
"Could use some." Mikey nodded and turned his curious gaze onto Frank; Frank fidgeted, hoping he wouldn't start blushing now. "I take it, you two were having a great morning?"  
" **Were** is definitely the right form of the verb 'to be' in this case." Gerard sipped at his coffee and there it was, the sassy hip; Frank felt a pang of fear not knowing how explicit this could get with Gerard in a mood to slay. "Speaking of which... To what do we owe the pleasure?"  
"I thought you could use some help with the party." Mikey shrugged, seemingly unthreatened. "Also, I am a nosy bitch, you know me. I wanted to take a look around before people trashed this place."  
"If they trash this place" Gerard gestured widely with his mug and Frank had a mild heart attack as he imagined the burning hot coffee going flying. "They will be leaving through the window."  
"Even if it's mom that does the trashing?" Mikey raised his brows, smirking.  
"Pff, the closest thing to trashing that mom has ever done was you." Frank mentally whistled at the burn as Gerard grinned.  
"Ouch, touché." Mikey grimaced and hid his face in the mug, contemplating the brew for a while. "So... how about you show me around anyway as I'm already here. Also, I really have to see your booze stash, you wimps. Someone's gotta save you, if it's as pathetic as usual." he swayed on his spot a little, perking up visibly.

Frank could already tell that this was going to be a long, long day.


	4. Chapter 4

Having Mikey around on his own was a pure torture, Frank decided. The guy was nosy as hell and definitely could beat the US government in the category of thorough investigation. Fortunately Frank officially used the guest room as a sort of workplace of his so his stuff lying all around could be easily explained.

Gerard casually sneaked a hand around Frank's waist as they were showing Mikey around and Frank honestly marvelled at the ease he was pulling this act off with. As far as he knew, Gerard had never been in a serious mature relationship before. He heard stories about some crushes from high school and a thing or two about random hookups later but Gerard didn't do that anymore. He probably watched too many soap operas though and copied the most gross couply behaviour he had observed there.

Honest to God, Frank wished he was capable of really minding this but it was all just beyond his control and he couldn't help but lean into Gerard's warmth. He tried to focus on anything but the way Gerard's fingers carelessly toyed with the hem of his shirt, touched casually his skin just above the tattoo, sending shivers all along his side. He tried for real but it was just impossible. He didn't even know what the Way brothers were currently talking about, he barely registered which room they were in. All he could think of were Gerard's hands on him, which was really, really bad on its own but as it turned out later, Mikey's visit and the casual touching was just a prelude to the catastrophic demise of Frank Anthony Iero.

***

The party started off slow with the arrival of Jon Walker and his flip flops, followed shortly by Spencer and two bottles of vodka. They got the obligatory tour of the place (Frank was glad that he had a chance to remove all the evidence from the guest room earlier as he shoved Mikey into the kitchen under the pretense of vacuuming the place) and then fell into an easy casual chat with Mikey, conveniently distracting him from sniffing around. Frank relaxed a little for the first time that day.

Very prematurely, as it turned out.

The apocalypse begun to enroll quite innocently, when the atmosphere started warming up as most of the guests arrived, the music in the speakers got significantly louder and the lights went dim. Frank was just chilling on the balcony with his evening cigarette, when one very distressed Tyler Joseph appeared in sight. Frank, still very much relaxed, offered him a drag. He didn't have the slightest suspicion something real bad was about to happen. Which was why it hit him twice as hard.

"Listen man, I hate being forced to say this but I have a serious problem." Tyler begun, fidgeting slightly more than usual. "You see, me and Josh are in the town just for your party. We've been planning to travel on anyway so it's not, like, a problem or anything, coming here but that you obviously remember from the talk we had on the phone when you invited us, right?" he took a shaky breath. "So anyways, the problem is, I called our hotel and it turns out that the system never accepted out reservation?" Tyler more asked than stated, making a sorrowful face. "Which means that we are quite literally homeless for tonight, which is really stressing me out right now but I guess you can imagine. So, the thing is... What I wanna ask..." he paused for a second. "You are totally entitled to say no and I won't be angry or anything but I thought... maybe we, Josh and I, could crash here tonight? We'll be gone tomorrow morning and totally not a problem at all, I promise. I just saw that you have this nice guest bedroom and we could put it to the test for the first time and..."

Tyler went on and on, babbling nervously as if he believed that Frank could actually say no but Frank didn't listen at all because his brain froze in the moment he realised he would be left to share the bed with Gerard for real. Which was definitely not a good idea as proven by the events of the morning.

Poor Tyler grew visibly more and more distressed as Frank didn't make a move to stop his rant and possibly only Gerard's sudden arrival stopped him from imploding from anxiety overload. Tyler thankfully explained the whole situation to him as Frank just stared blankly into the space, the cigarette begining to burn his fingers, and once Gerard gave him a yes, he disappeared back into the room.

"What the hell Frank?" Gerard hissed, taking the cigarette butt from between Frank's slack fingers. "You're slipping."  
Frank watched him take a deep, final drag, his lips holding the short cigarette almost reverently.  
"I'm sorry." he finally said. "It's just that he surprised me completely. He's a really weird kid."  
"I like his brand of weirdness." Gerard shrugged and then threw the butt over the railing, watching it disappear in the night. "Come on, Frankie, we can bunk up for one night, we've done that shit before. I promise I won't bite. At least not too hard."  
Frank rolled his eyes, glad that the darkness hid his blush.  
"Whatever." he muttered.

"Now, now." Gerard patted his hand and then, after a moment in which he clearly decided on something, grabbed it to hold it gently. "We will worry about that later. Now it's time to dance so dance with me, Frankie." he smiled somewhat hopefully and Frank allowed himself to be pulled inside, into the living room where some guests were already drunk enough to flail around in their attempts to look cool.

The music had a slow, low beat and Frank could only guess that it was Brendon who became the self-proclaimed DJ "redy to set this place on fire, motherfuckers". He would probably be more concerned about this, if Gerard's hands hadn't just found their place on his hips. Frank rested his on Gerard's shoulders and silently thanked all the gods that there was still some room for Jesus left between them.

His relief was a bit premature.

Less than a minute had passed before Gerard has completely pressed himself against Frank, moving their hips together to the torturous rhythm of the song and Frank just had to go with it, there was no escape.  
"Grab my ass." demanded Gerard right into his ear. "We're gonna give them a little show."  
Frank shivered but did as he was told. He nearly passed out as he fully realised that he was actually squeezing Gerard Way's butt. Gerard nuzzled into the crook of his neck and breathed hotly against his skin. Frank only had so much self-control. He grinded shamelessly against him, making him gasp in surprise.  
"Yeah..." Gerard said in a low voice. "That's what I'm talking about." and then he grabbed Frank by his hair and kissed him on the corner of his mouth, causing some people to whistle and catcall as if it was a full on kiss. Frank supposed they couldn't see too well in the dim light but boy, could he feel that just right, the tease driving him insane.

Gerard had the most shit-eating grin Frank had ever witnessed glued to his face, when he pulled away, and Frank had a feeling that the boner he sported tonight was one of those that just didn't want to go away on their own.

***

He was right about that one and he really, really hated that. He hated that it had to happen when he was deprived of his own room, his own bed and walls and doors that separated him from the sole reason behind this mess.

Frank just wasn't born lucky.

After the last guest escaped the premises, he said goodnight to very guiltily looking Tyler and Josh and sneaked into the master bedroom. Heslid underneath the covers, while Gerard wasn't paying attention to him and his raging problem, focused on putting some mysterious creams on. Frank basked in the sweet silence for a moment and only then it hit him.

"They are going to have sex in my bed, aren't they?" he said in a hollow tone, staring at the ceiling.  
Gerard looked wistful for a moment.  
"Yeah, probably." he finally said and proceeded to put the creams away, turn the lights off and fall down onto the bed next to Frank.  
Frank just covered his face with both hands. He loved that new matress of his, alright? He really did but now he'd have to fucking burn it down in the yard.

"It reminds me about one thing though." Gerard sounded somewhat serious in the dark. "We haven't really discussed it yet and I'm sorry about that because that seems pretty fucking important."  
"What is?" Frank felt like he was making a mistake, being all curious.  
"The sex." said Gerard even more seriously.  
"The. Sex." repeated Frank hollowly, helplessly trying to will his dick into not reacting to a single fucking word.  
"Yes." Gerard shifted and Frank could feel his eyes on himself now. "I suppose you can't just go around and hook up randomly now that we're officialy an item. You know that this is exactly the kind of thing I wanted to avoid and never get involved in again, hence this whole scam, but I have never actually asked you, if you were ready to give up on that way of getting off. Which kind of makes me feel like a massive jerk right now."  
"Unnecessarily then." Frank specifically didn't look at Gerard. "It's not my thing anymore, hadn't been for a longer while."  
"Still... I feel like I depraved you of your sex life, Frankie." Gerard lowered his voice. "And I know you are in need quite often. Like for example now."

"The fuck do you think you know about me?!" Frank got immediately defensive, going completely red on the face; he was not going to let Gerard make fun out of his problem, not now, not ever; this was already too humiliating as it was, without his sassy commentary.

"For one, you have a raging boner right now and that's a fact you cannot simply deny." Gerard's voice became a seductive purr, completely throwing Frank out of balance. "And I just wanted to add that I could help you with that, if you want me to."  
"Wh-what...?" begun Frank and stopped abruptly, sucking in a breath as Gerard's hand squeezed his dick through his pyjamas.  
"Please, Frankie, just let me take care of you." Gerard shuffled closer, whispered right into his ear now. "I pulled you into this whole mess, just let me make up for that a little, alright? I'm gonna help you unwind."

Frank forgot how to breathe as Gerard begun slowly teasing his straining cock through the material before sliding his hand inside and touching him skin on skin, smearing the precome all over and slowly jerking him off. He didn't dare stare directly at Gerard but out of the corner of his eyes he could see the concentration on his face, his eyelashes fluttering ever so slightly and teeth worrying his lower lip. Frank wondered if this all wasn't just a beautiful, hot dream. Gerard's hand felt pretty real though and was also pretty damn good at it, working Frank in a slightly different way than he usually did himself but equally good, even better maybe because holy shit, this was **Gerard's hand** , after all.

Frank clenched his teeth and really fought not to embarass himself begging for more and proving just how desperate he was, when Gerard's hand made this one extra wicked twist and Frank fucking **mewled** and came all over Gerard's palm and his own stomach. Gerard massaged him through this gently and then removed his hand to pull out a packet of tissuess from his nightstand. He cleaned them up wordlessly. Frank could swear he heard him hum something cheery very, very silently under his breath but the orgasm ripped the rest of the energy out of him and he barely registered a silent "goodnight" and Gerard's palm resting on his chest before he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	5. Chapter 5

Frank was pretty sure he woke up in a parallel universe. He was lying in Gerard's bed, there definitely was a forgotten dried streak of cum on his stomach so he couldn't have possibly imagined the events of the night but the world seemed just... pretty much the same. Frank felt like there should have been a major shift of some kind, the world peace finally achieved, pandas saved or at least no more poverty ever again. Instead there was just the comfortable silence of the morning disrupted only by the sound of distant chatter coming from the kitchen.

To be honest Frank also felt like he wasn't freaking out even halfly as much as he should. In fact, he wasn't really freaking out at all. As if he found himself on a completely different plane of existence, detached from all the previous occurences.

He rolled out of the bed, grabbed a fresh change of clothes and went to the bathroom to start the day as usual. All cleaned up and fresh, he felt ready to face whatever could await him on that beautiful morning. He did feel ready but he couldn't actually have been since he couldn't possibly even begin to imagine what was about to happen.

Frank was putting on his t-shirt while walking into the kitchen casually so he didn't get a good view of the situation at hand before stepping right into it. Which was exactly why it took him by complete surprise that Gerard was right there, in front of him, ready to fuck him up from the minute one.

The very moment Frank's head came fully through the neckhole he was being grabbed by his hair and pulled into the softest kiss of his life.

It took his mind longer than it took his body to register what was going on so before he even proceeded that Gerard's lips were touching his very own mouth (holy cannoli), he was already holding Gerard by his waist, pulling him in closer. He could feel Gerard smile against his lips.

"Good morning, Frankie." he chirped in his sweetest voice as he pulled away and only this tiny spark of mischief in his eye betrayed that he probably knew how wrecked Frank was on the inside. "Coffee?"  
Frank just nodded, still stuck on the thought that him and Gerard had just kissed. For real. Gerard kissed him. Jesus.

"Not a morning person, that Frankie of mine." Gerard giggled, shaking his head and turning to Josh and Tyler who just sat there, looking a bit after-party-green on the faces; Frank hadn't even had a chance to notice them before but he kind of suspected that Gerard hadn't been talking to himself so their presence wasn't that much of a surprise.

However, he couldn't help but be a little disappointed to fully realise that the kiss was only for a show; he really, really wanted to decieve even himself right now and believe it was real for a while. Gerard handed him a mug of coffee, smiling secretively and Frank wished it could actually mean what it looked like it meant.

***

Tyler and Josh left at about noon, stuffed with aspirin and quite possibly ready to puke anyway because of all the grossily sweet show of affection they have been subjected to. Frank smiled brilliantly at them, thinking of a million ways to murder Gerard, their hands still linked.

"I have two tickets to the cinema." said Gerard the moment the door closed behind the guests.  
"What?" Frank lost his murderous trail of thoughts completely.  
"After a successful party, I think we deserve to go out, just the two of us, and celebrate a little." Gerard smiled downright mischievously and Frank blushed hard.  
"You are literally the most ridiculous person I know." he shook his head.  
"Maybe I am but I also have the tickets for Suicide Squad and you still love me." Gerard sounded so proud of himself.

Frank didn't respond to that. He was afraid that if he did and did sincerely, he'd somehow disrupt the oddly peaceful and stable atmosphere they got going.

***

The whole city probably knew by now that Frank and Gerard were together. The PDA was so over the top that Frank thought he really should have felt at least a bit uncomfortable but he couldn't find it in himself to feel embarassed. Not when Gerard held his hand like this, toyed with his fingers and kissed his knuckles, his eyes fixed on Frank and burning with a flame real enough for Frank to forget that none of this was actually true.

If there still had been a chance for him to "be healed" of Gerard, then it was completely lost and gone now. He was so in love that it physically hurt him.

He was in love and he was also extremely attracted to Gerard, even more now that he remembered the way his hand felt around him and his breath burned hot against Frank's skin. Frank was overly aware of every little gesture that Gerard made, the way he smirked and adjusted his hair, the way he bit on his lip absently... Frank was ridiculously gone.

It was also kind of sad that at the end of the day he could count only on a quiet private jerk off session to ease his pain. At least now he had his bedroom to himself. How fucking convenient.

***

He had to wait for quite a long while before he stopped hearing Gerard shuffle around in his room. His erection was already straining in his pyjamas so the wait was a real torture but he just couldn't risk Gerard overhearing his pathetic whines and maybe a name slipping from his mouth.

Eventually the flat went completely silent and Frank exhaled sharply, reaching down to give himself the first slow tug. It really was pathetic, especially so as he tried to copy exactly what Gerard had done to him the night before, closing his eyes and pretending that it was yet again him doing that.

The bitterness sat low in Frank's stomach as he was starting to get really into it. He was truly the most pitiful creature to ever walk this Earth. His movements grew a little erratic and at this point he stopped caring that he was making enough noise for someone to hear him from behind the door. He didn't care as he got lost in his fantasy and arched his back to get more, even if it was just him pleasuring himself. He didn't care to the point that the only thing he did when someone suddenly gripped his wrist was to whine in almost literal pain.

But then the familiar feel of his hand was replaced with a hot, wet suction and as his eyes fluttered open, he saw Gerard, his eyes dark and burning, swallowing him whole in one go. Frank didn't notice when he walked in, didn't know how long he had been there just watching Frank but he couldn't care less right now.

He couldn't unglue his eyes from Gerard's face and Gerard stared right back at him, which made it all feel a hundred times dirtier and hotter. Frank was glad that Gerard held his hips firmly in place because he wouldn't be able to stop himself from bucking up and squirming, Gerard's mouth and tongue driving him insane, bringing him to the edge in a record time and holding him there in a prolonging, sweet torture.

"I'm gonna... Gonna..." he whimpered, completely lost in the perfect madness of the moment, and Gerard sucked harder, his tongue pressing flat against Frank's member and then dragging along the underside, caressing the pulsating vein there.

Frank came with an incoherent shout and fell slack against his sheets as Gerard licked him clean, his lips burning against Frank's oversensitive skin. He only had so much power as to raise his head enough to see Gerard press a soft, barely palpable kiss to his belly, send him one more look, this time a somehow innocent and oddly vulnerable one, and then slide off the bed to back away quickly and leave the room.

Maybe Frank should have called after him but his muscles just weren't cooperating enough to let him talk. And boy, this time they couldn't just avoid talking. Frank sighed.

***

"Morning." said Gerard absently as Frank entered the kitchen.  
"Uhm." responded Frank politely and sat by the island, opposite to his "boyfriend".  
Gerard slid towards him the mug of coffee wordlessly, without raising his head, seemingly focused on the comic he was reading.

He would be much more convincing, if he wasn't holding the booklet upside down.

"Are you actually being nervous now?" Frank raised his brows, taking the mug into his hands. "Really?"  
Gerard stared at the comic intently for a while longer, then he bit on his lip and then he cracked up completely, bursting into a fit of giggles. He carelessly threw the comic book over his shoulder and grinned, finally looking at Frank directly.  
"Ha, you believed that for a second, didn't you?" he pointed a finger at him, insanely proud of his little show.  
"Like I would, you ass." Frank snorted and took a sip of his coffee.  
Gerard rested his elbows on the counter and cradled his face in his palms, watching Frank with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"We still have to talk about this, you know." Frank said casually. "In all seriousness."  
"I don't know what you would like to say" Gerard kept staring at him, the smile not going away. "But all I have is the simple truth: I like to suck a dick from time to time, you like having your dick sucked once in a while and since none of us is getting anything of sorts outside these walls we share, seems like we can only help each other." he shrugged as if this was no big deal; Frank could tell he was swinging his legs back and forth like a kid underneath that counter.

Gerard fucking Way, ladies and gentlemen.

Frank decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.  
"If you see it that way..." he tried to sound nonchalant. "Then I guess I have nothing more to add."  
Gerard gaped at him for a while. Frank took another sip of his coffee.  
"Alright." Gerard finally said and drummed his fingers against the counter. "The pancakes are on the plate over there, probably still hot. I gotta get to work soon."  
Frank nodded with sympathy. The world seemed completely unchanged yet again.

***

That night Gerard didn't sneak into Frank's bed, no, he just shamelessly barged in, all hot and bothered, and absolutely irresistible.

"I need you to fuck me, Frankie." he whispered in a rough, rough voice, right into Frank's ear and who was Frank to say no to such request; especially as it was literaly everything he had ever dreamt of.

Gerard took almost no time to prepare himself with a quick work of slick fingers before he sunk down onto Frank, ready to ride him, tight and greedy around his dick. He threw his head back, red hair sticking to his forehead, his pale skin glowing in the dark, beautiful and tempting more than ever. Frank wanted nothing more but to touch and kiss, worship and explore every inch of it. He wanted Gerard so much that it physically hurt and even though they were quite literally having sex right this moment, he still felt like a daydream just out of Frank's reach.

Frank grabbed him by the hips and gave as good as he got, fucking deep into him, aiming to his his prostate and tear some more of those sweet moans out of him. Gerard was loud and shameless and Frank was so weak for this.

With one smooth move he rolled them over to find himself on top and push into Gerard deeper and more forcefully now. Gerard fucking mewled. A string of incoherent yelps and moans left his mouth as Frank pinned him down and picked up the tempo. Gerard's dick was heavy and leaking against his pale stomach, his back arching, his head thrown back in delight and the long line of his neck exposed, begging to be bitten, kissed, licked and marked. Frank gritted his teeth and pounded into him deeper, barely holding back as Gerard clenched around him, so fucking tight and incredible.

"Frank... Frank..." Gerard whimpered, grabbing at Frank's arms and as Frank made a move to grip Gerard's cock and his fingers merely touched him, Gerard came hard, his breath hitching and muscles constricting almost painfully around Frank.

Frank thrusted once and twice more and then he was coming too, deep inside Gerard, almost lightheaded enough to pass out. He collapsed on top of him as he rode it out and Gerard embraced him, nuzzling into Frank's hair.

They lied there for a while, their breaths slowing down together. Frank closed his eyes and slowly allowed himself to drift away, listening to Gerard's heart beat right underneath his ear. He felt safe with Gerard's arms around his back, holding him tight. He couldn't lie to himself, stripped of all his lines of defense now, he felt happy. And he decided he could get used to feeling like that. He only hoped he could have a chance to do just that.


	6. Chapter 6

It was like some sort of a ridiculous secret everyone knew about, that hot, messy sex they had and didn't actually talk about with anything more than secretive smiles. Three times was not an accident though so Frank made peace with the thought of this becoming a regular thing now. It was pretty amusing though, he reached a completely new level of friendzone and he didn't even particularly mind. He supposed he should be much more bitter now that he had Gerard in every way but the romantic one, which was kind of absurd on its own, but that was just Frank's luck. He had learned to live with it so he supposed he could somehow deal with that particular symptom of it too.

Another funny side effect was the song he was currently writing. He was pretty proud of the vague references to his real feelings he made in the lyrics and he was mentally preparing himself to play and sing it to Gerard in the evening, both afraid and thrilled by the perspective of him maybe finding out the truth, until Gerard came home visibly distressed, more than Frank ever remembered him be.

He wanted to ask, really, but Gerard just grabbed his serving of the dinner and locked himself with his drawings. Frank left him be, hoping it wasn't anything too serious. He knew Gerard would talk, if he needed to and that Frank would be the first person he would turn to in that case. They weren't best friends for nothing.

Gerard didn't come out for the supper.

He must have been to the bathroom, while Frank was napping in the living room and probably grabbed something to drink then but other than the strong suspicion Frank had and a dirty plate in the sink, there was no sign of his presence at all. It was a bit worrying but it was also very Gerard-like so Frank wasn't panicking just yet. Besides, he would maybe be freaking out more, if he had a feeling that this was about him and "them", whatever "they" were now, but he just knew that this wasn't the case.

If this was about Frank, then Gerard wouldn't have come back home to sulk in his proximity. Frank had a diploma in gerardology so he could tell that this was the sort of crisis that could require Frank's presence to be resolved. Therefore Frank himself couldn't be the direct concern nor the center of it. He knew Gerard would come to him eventually, that man couldn't stay silent for too long.

As it turned out, once again Frank was not wrong.

He had just settled in his bed with a book, when Gerard sneaked in shyly and crawled next to Frank to glue himself to his side. Frank put the book down, mentally bracing himself for an existential crisis.

"Have sex with me, please?" Gerard sounded small and miserable as he nuzzled into Frank's shoulder.  
"Is this actually what you came with and truly just exactly what you want?" Frank put an arm around Gerard, hugging him.  
"Yes. Maybe. I don't know." Gerard sighed. "Couldn't hurt to try, right?"  
Frank chuckled softly.  
"Sex cannot fix all the problems, Gee." he absently threaded his fingers through Gerard's hair. "An honest talk with a friend, however... That could work miracles." he smiled tenderly as Gerard looked at him. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Gerard inhaled sharply and then exhaled loudly, pressing his face against Frank's shoulder to hide it.  
"I almost died today." he said silently, almost too silent for Frank to hear. "A really huge piece of roughcast fell off the building wall and landed right in front of me. I could feel the breeze on my nose. Frank, if I finished my work literally half a second earlier, I wouldn't be here with you now."

Frank wasn't even aware that his grip around Gerard tightened. His mind went blank as Gerard talked.

"It made me realise that this could actually have been it for my time around here. All I've done to this point would be my heritage, my footprint left on this planet." he continued. "And that realisation terrified me. It terrified me that while some people would grieve after my death, a year from now nobody would just randomly think about me, wonder what I would be up to, if I lived, regret that I'm not there. I would be just a fading memory..." he turned his head to stare into the empty space in front of him. "It fucked me up so bad, Frankie."

Frank felt a lump form in his throat. He gulped loudly.

"I would." he said softly. "I would grieve you and remember about you, wonder what you would be up to and regret you couldn't watch the day wake up with me. A year after your death, I would. And two years, and five, and thirty. I always would."

Gerard embraced Frank's chest at that and rested his head against him, looking as if he just kept listening to Frank's heartbeat for a while.

"Sometimes I wonder, if you actually are real." he whispered after a moment. "I just love you so much, Frankie."  
He looked so vulnerable and honest as he searched for Frank's eyes and Frank felt his heart swell so much that he feared it could explode. He wasn't stupid, alright? He knew that Gerard loved him and cared about him dearly, they were the bestest friends for life, after all. Maybe the ancient Greeks would even call that love agape. And Frank loved him like that too. However, he also loved Gerard romantically and in every other way one human could love another, all at once. He loved Gerard so much that he couldn't even comprehend it himself. That's why his answer was the simplest one he could give.  
"And I love you too, Gee, I do." he said and kissed Gerard on the top of his head, pulling him in closer, hoping to make him feel safe.  
"I know." Gerard murmured. "You're the most important person in my life. If you died, I'd die too."

Part of Frank melted at that completely and part of him froze in terror.  
"Oh no, you cannot do that." he started petting Gerard's hair. "You should live on. I want you to live on after I die. You cannot give up just because I'm not there, you're strong enough to survive on your own, without me."  
"Well, maybe I am. Maybe I could survive" Gerard looked into his eyes again. "But maybe I just wouldn't want to try at all."  
And to that, Frank had no good response but to kiss Gerard's head again and hold him as close as he could.

***

The scent of coffee woke Frank up. He was alone in his bed but he still could someone else's warmth linger on his skin and could smell Gerard on his pillow. He forced his body to cooperate and eventually got up to face the new day.

Frank wandered into the kitchen and sat at the island as per usual to watch Gerard pour the coffee for both of them. The morning felt no different from all the other mornings they shared. But then, instead of sitting opposite to Frank and sliding him his mug as always, Gerard walked around the island, set the mug down in front of Frank and then cupped his face to kiss him gently on the lips, mouth and eyes closed, his eyelashes fluttering lightly.

"Good morning." he said, taking half a step back.

Frank had had his fair share of surprises but he could swear he had never been this shocked. He blinked slowly and looked Gerard in his eyes, barely stopping himself from touching his own lips.

"We're alone." he finally choked out, his voice hoarse. "Nobody can see us, you don't have to..."  
"Yes, I don't have to." Gerard interrupted him, nodding slowly. "But I think it's time to admit that I really, really want to and I really, really hope you do too."

Frank froze. Then he blinked rapidly. Opened his mouth and closed it. Blinked again.

"You..." was all that left his mouth in the end.  
"Yeah, me." Gerard smiled a little but it was pretty sheepish a smile for his standards. "I haven't actually been pretending that I was in love with you all this time. I simply am. Have been for quite some time now. You just never seemed interested so I..." he took a deep breath and **blushed**. "I came up with this plan to seduce you. I thought that maybe if we could convince everyone that we are meant to be, then you would start believing this too and hopefully fall in love with me." he shrugged awkwardly.  
"God..." whispered Frank, staring at Gerard with disbelief. "You planned this all along? Was your mother actually working with you on this?"  
"No! Nobody knew." Gerard bit his lip. "I knew I could count on her to create an opportunity for this to happen so I just waited for the right moment and then went for it. I hope you aren't too angry with me..."  
"Of course I am fucking angry." suddenly the truth and all the implications hit Frank at full force and he felt his face heat up with emotion. "I've been flirting with you for ages and only now you wonder if I'm in love with you? You asinine buttock, I've loved you basically since the day we met!"

Gerard made big eyes at him and then frowned in confusion.  
"But asinine buttock? For real?" he asked with mild terror in his voice.  
Frank opened his mouth and raised his arms, ready to just tell him but then he just sort of crumbled on himself and.. started laughing. Loudly and sincerely, all the promising and sweet realisations, the more important ones, finally fully dawning on him.

"You are fucking impossible." he looked at Gerard and shook his head because Gerard was cracking up too. "Totally batshit insane and catastrophically stupid at times but.." he paused and his gaze became fond and adoring. "But I love you just the way you are and I wouldn't change a thing about you."  
Gerard smiled quite goofily at that.  
"Well, that's convenient." he said. "Because honestly, I don't think I could actually change any of that."  
"I really don't think you ever should." Frank smiled back at him and then gently reached for his hand, thrilled to be able to do that just like this, in private and for their eyes only.

For the first time he noticed how perfectly Gerard's fingers inertwined with his. He looked at their linked hands and thought that they looked the best like this. Together.

"So..." Gerard begun, looking at their hands too. "Do you still want to hang out with me for the rest of our lives?" he lifted his sight and looked Frank staright in the eye, expectant and hopeful.  
"This time without any doubt, I can say that yeah, I very much do." Frank said, his eyes twinkling joyfully.

And as Gerard's expression broke into a grin, he cupped his face and kissed his nose and then his eyes, and in the end his smiling lips that he found more perfect than all the wonders of the world together. Frank kissed Gerard and Gerard smiled, and then Gerard kissed Frank and the wars didn't suddenly come to an end, the world hadn't really changed in a blink but somehow... it suddenly felt like a very different place anyway.

A much better one, Frank could already tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that's it, folks. Was it too short? Too long? Or maybe just right? You let me know :D I felt like this was the kind of ending this story needed, given that Gerard was a sneaky bastard from the very beginning and maybe you could have guessed that little twist since I dropped some hints :p I'm a bit tempted to write this whole story from Gee's perspective now just for kicks xD  
> I hope you enjoyed this little journey just as much as I did. If so, don't forget to leave some kudos, I bathe in the readers' love as it keeps my skin moisturized ^^  
> You can also visit me on my [tumblr](http://the-rising-demonmistress-of-styx.tumblr.com/) and say hi if you want :D  
> Kisses and see you next time!  
> Lizzie


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